**Changing Lake Travis Water Levels Over a Week**
In just one week, Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, saw a significant rise in water levels, increasing by over 6 feet. The bulk of this rise occurred in the past day, due to swollen rivers channeling millions of gallons of water into the reservoir.
Lake Travis has been grappling with decreasing water levels since 2022, hitting such lows last year that hidden pecan groves and disused concrete plants emerged from beneath the lake’s surface. The lake had dropped by 30 feet since the beginning of 2022, regaining some ground over the past week with heavy rains drenching Texas.
Storms on Monday brought up to 9 inches of rain to parts of the Texas Hill Country, prompting the opening of floodgates at the Max Starcke and Wirtz dams to manage flood risks. This excess water flowed downstream, replenishing Lake Travis at a staggering rate of 13.5 million gallons per minute, pushing water levels to just over 640 feet by Thursday afternoon.
Meteorologist Avery Tomasco from CBS Austin noted that Lake Travis had surged 6 feet higher in just a week, quipping that the added water could fill 31,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools or power Niagara Falls for 8 straight hours. He pointed out that the current lake levels surpass those of 2023 but remain lower compared to 2022.
While the recent influx is notable, Lake Travis still has a way to go, sitting 7 feet below 2022 levels and a substantial 40 feet below full capacity. Tomasco highlighted the enormous 200 billion gallons required to restore Lake Travis to its fullest, emphasizing that recent developments, though significant, fall short of that target.
An additional rainfall on Thursday in the Llano River’s upstream area hinted at more water inflow. Despite a flood watch and hazardous weather outlook for the Austin region, with isolated storms forecasted, these were unlikely to bring about a substantial shift in Lake Travis water levels, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).